(Originally posted on Wednesday, July 16, 2008 at http://kellyutt-grubb.blogspot.com.)

One of my little boys started kindergarten last week and like most kids his age, he was a bit unsure about the first day of school. Proudly wearing his new backpack stuffed to the brim with supplies, Christopher and I arrived at the welcome table to find that his name tag said “Uttgrubb” instead of “Utt-Grubb.” We certainly have an unusual last name, so thinking nothing of it I corrected the teacher and she gave him a new tag.

But when he got in the car after school that afternoon I could see that he was worried. He immediately told me about how the same teacher had written “Chris” instead of “Christopher” on the tag of the towel we sent from home for nap time. He was understandably upset. This was his first school experience and he had never been called Chris before. He couldn’t figure out why the teacher would want to rename him!

On our way back inside to get the towel– I intended to bring it home and replace it with one that said “Christopher” by the next school day– I ran into the teacher who had done the deed। I was disappointed when she said that it wasn’t a big deal, that the tag was too small for “Christopher” and that we could get it back another time, all while Christopher stood beside me clearly distressed by the situation.
We did get the towel back that afternoon and I did replace it before the next school day, but I was struck by how well this situation illustrates the importance of names. In the most fundamental way, using a child’s name lets him know that he’s seen, respected and accepted just as he is. Imagine for a moment what might be have been going through Christopher’s 5-year-old mind when the teacher used his name incorrectly– not once, but twice.

What is your earliest memory of knowing your own full name—of knowing that it meant something to you? Do you remember when you were first able to write it by yourself? What was a big deal to you?
Maybe you most associate your last name with ancestry, a family business or your career। Or maybe your name is as much a part of you as the familiar face you see in the mirror every day of your life. Regardless of exactly why, our names matter a great deal to us all.
Just for fun, jot down some name related memories from your own elementary school days! How did those early experiences shape you? How do they relate to the person you’ve become?